By Georgiy Ivanov

(1930)

I'm hearing — history and the humankind,

I'm hearing — exile or else the native land.

In books I read — duplicity and benevolence,

Despair and hope, or faith and faithlessness.

 

And I see, — Something vast, tender —

And frightening, iced to the core,

Eternally hope-deprived.

 

And I see, — Torture or else forgetfulness, —

Where everything's lost, forevermore,

Its significance.

 

And I see, — Beyond all time and distances, —

Above the poor earth,

An unearthly shimmering.

*A lyric from Ivanov’s best-known collection "Roses", published in Paris, 1930.